Anatomical articulator



Dec. 25 1923.

l. R. WHEELER ANATOMICAL ARTICULATOR Filed Dec. '7. 1922 Patented Dec;25, 1923.

UNITED STATES PATENT lRA ROLLINS WHEELER, 0F

' ANATOMICAL Application filed December To all whom it may concern:

Be it knownthat I, IRA RoLLrNs WHEELER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Brockton, in the county of Plymouth and State ofMassachusetts, have invented a cer tain new. and useful Improvement inan Anatomical Articulator, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates broadly to the art of dentistry and moreparticularly to the construction of an anatomical dental artic ulator. iY

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a construction ofanatomical dental articulator which simulates as nearly as p0ssible thenatural movement of the jaws during mastication.

Another object ofthe invention is to provide a construction ofanatomical dental articulator which eliminates the many slots,

grooves, planes plateaguide pins, and ad justable parts heretoforeemployed in dental articulators for simulating the movement of dentureswhich would normally take place in mastication.

Another object of the invention is to simplify the construction of ananatomical dental articulator by providing resilient means'between theupper and'lower plates affording means for supporting the plates of the.articulator by which relative move ment of. the of the jaws. V

A still further object of the invention is to provide an articulatorconstruction in which the upper and lower plates may be relativelyadjusted with a pivotal mounting between the plates and spiral springmeans spacing the plates apart wherebyrelative movement is permittedsimulating the movement of the jawvs.

Other and further objects of the invention will be understood from thespecification hereinafter following by reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

Figure l is a perspective view of my anatomical dental artieulator; Fig.Q is a plates simulate the movementside elevation of my articulatorshowing the dentures plastered in position on the upperand lower plates;Fig. 3 is a front view of the articulator with dotted lines.

indicating in greatly exaggerated positions the relative lateralmovement of the plates which my construction permits; and Fig. 4 is apartial cross-sectional view taken through the articulator showing oneof the 1,478,722 OFFICE.

ARTICULATOB.

7, 1922. Serial No. 605,343.

spiral supporting springs which space the present invention I haveprovided a con- These connections have involved struction of articulatorwhich eliminates the many complications introduced in previousarticulators, and yetmy construction affords a. movement throughout thelength of supporting springs which space the 'upper and lower platesapart, whereby the natural movement of the jaws during mastication isreproduced.

I provide an upper and lower plate, the

upper plate comprising two sections, one

resting upon the other and being secured together by an adjusting nut orscrew, allowing the upper plate to beregulated in, position forward andbackward at will, the adjusting nut or screw firmly locking the twosect-ions together. That section to which the upper plate isa-djusta'blyconnected is provided with extension members, at a pluralityofpoints about the periphery of the plate, which are pivotally mounted,

in a supporting member. The sup orting .member carr1es a bridge betweenthe sections thereof and an ad ustable screw within the bridge wherebythe relative, position of the upper plate and the supporting member maybe regulated. Shortprojections are provided on the supporting member.The lower plate is provided with extensions, and projections atplurality of similar points about the periphery of the lower plate. andbetween these extensions and the projections on the supporting men1 heris positicned'a pairof spiral springs.

These springs are positioned at a plurality of points about theperipheries ofthe plates or jaws and allow a free and natural movementof the plates relative to each other, which movement'is not controlledin any manner by complicated adjustments heretofore required.Thedentures, models or casts are plastered upon the upper and lowerplates and assume the relationship with each other that the jaws do inthe natural use and working thereof. The movement permitted by thesesprin s permits the teeth to ride over each other and be guided in theirmovement by the planes of the articulating surfaces as in the naturalstate. The teeth may be brought tog-ether for example and the pressurereleased upon the upper plate, whereby the two plates slide back intotheir normal relationship.

Referring now more particularly tothe drawings, reference character 1indicates the upper plate and numeral 2 designates the lower plate. Theupper plate 1 is adjustably secured to section 6 provided with twoextension members 24; and 25 e which are pivotally mounted in thesupportingmember 5 upon axis 7. Relative adjustment between section6'and the upperplate 1 is permitted by the adjustment of screw 8 "insection 6 operating through slot 1 in the upper plate 1- and having ashoulder bearing upon member 16. A bridge member is carried by thesupporting member?) and adjustable screw 12 is threaded through thisbridge for adjusting the angularg position of the upper plate with thelower plate.

Locknut 14 is provided to'maintain a permanent setting of the screw 12when its position is finally selected. Between projections 26 and 27 onthe supporting member 5 and the projections 28 and 29 on extensions 30and 31 on the lower plate 2 I provide spiral prings 4 and 10 which aresecured to rojectio-ns 28 and 29 on the lower plate 2 and to shouldersor projections 26 and 27 formed on the supporting member 5'. Thedentures 21- and 22 are plastered on the upper plate 1 and lower plate 2respectively and movement imparted by the articulator simulating thenatural movement of the jaws. The spiral spring construction at pointsabout the peripheries of the jaws permits whatever lateral movement mayever be desirable, as indlcated n great exaggeration by dotted line 18and 20.

WVhile I have described my invention-in a certain preferred embodiment,my invention is not limited to this particular showing. An articulatoremploying a single spring connection between the upper and lower platesmight be employed. I intend no limitations of the invention beyond thoseimposed by the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United Statesis as follows:

1. An anatomical dental articulator comprising an upper aw and a lowerjaw, resilient means positioned intermediate said jaws andinterconnecting same forming the sole supporting means for said jawswhereby freedom of movement of the jaws in several directions issecured.

2. In an anatomical dental articulator, the

combination ofian upper'j aw, a lower jaw,

and resilient means connecting a plurality of points about the peripheryof said jaws and forming the'sole support for saidupper jaw over saidlower jaw and permitting freedom of movementof one jaw relative to theother jaw.

3. In an anatomical dental articulator, the combination of a lower plateand an upper plate pivotally mounted relative to the lower plate, andresilient means interposed V between said pivotal mounting and saidlower plate forming the solesupport between the upper plate and thelower plate and permitting relative movement betwe'en'said plates.

4. In an'ana'tomical dental articulaton the combination of a'lower plate"and an upper plate, a plurality of short projections on said plates andspiral spring means interposed between said projections for spacing saidplates and forming the sole means of support for said, upper plate andpermitting relative movement between said plates.

5. In an anatomical dental articulator, the combination of an upperplate and a lower plate, and a plurality of sp-iralsprings interposedbetween said plates forming the sole supporting means for said upperplate and permitting relative movement of said plates.

6. In an anatomical dental articulator, the combination of an upperplate and a lower plate, means for adjusting said upper plate relativeto said lower plate, means for pivotally mounting one plate relative tothe other, extensions on said lower plate, and a pair of spiral springsforming the sole means of support between said extensions on said lowerplate and said pivotal mounting means.

7. In an anatomical dental articulator, the combination of an upperplate and a lower plate, means for angularly and horizontally adjustingsaid upper plate relative to said lower plate, means for pivotallymounting one of said plates relative to the other, ex-

tensions on said pivotal mounting means,

extensions on said lower plate, and a pair of spiral springs interposedbetween said extensions forming the sole means of support for said upperplate whereby movement of said plates is permitted simulating naturalmovement of the jaws.

IRA ROLLINS WHEELER.

